Monday, October 18, 2010

A note was released on Facebook some time ago, mentioning theprospective end of IDKE due to lack of support/interested host cities.I wanted to write this one last piece of correspondence regarding IDKEsince feedback was requested in the above mentioned note. I cannot, ingood conscience, spend a dime of my troupe’s money on attending IDKEthis year, so hopefully this letter will find its way into the righthands.

In my view, IDKE is failing for a few reasons.

1.) High cost of attending/hosting IDKE. Host cities have gone intotremendous debt trying to make the conference accessible, affordableand enjoyable for the attendees. While scholarships exist, noteveryone can get them, and the cost is quite out of reach for a lot ofperformers. Even though my troupe paid the cost of transportation,lodging and tickets to IDKE events, I still had performers whocouldn’t afford the trip the last 3 times the Carnival Kings attended.IDKE has become insolvent, but doesn’t appear so because it spreadsthe debt around from city to city.

Solution: Corporate Sponsorship. Companies that benefit from our queercommunity have proven that they will put their money where theirmarket is. Several gay-friendly, wealthy businesses sponsor Prides andparades throughout the country. This would drive down the costsassumed by the host city, so would also drive down the cost of IDKEtickets and lodging.

2.) Lack of leadership. There is no discernable leadership at the helmof IDKE. The Board insists that its sole function is to select thenext host city. One person owns the rights to IDKE, but holds no otherreal leadership role, leaving the Board without any real authority.So when issues pop up (like whether performers can do rap/hip hop atIDKE or not), no one is the “law”. There are no clear rules as to theadministration of the actual conference, because someone in leadership would have to make them. Having hundreds of people gathering, even justonce a year, without solid, stable leadership is begging for disorganization,mixed messages and an untimely demise of that traditional gathering. IDKE’sdesire to offend no one has apparently offended everyone, and since no one is incharge, no one can fix it.

Solution: Create leadership, either by empowering the Board orselecting a diverse panel of performers to lead. Have this leadershipgroup make and enforce rules…not just abstract respect clauses thatare so open to interpretation that no one is accountable. (And even ifthey were accountable, who would they be accountable to withoutleadership?)

3.) Bias against types of drag performances/performers. IDKE welcomescertain types of drag, but not others. Jukebox Drag (pure performanceof a song), performers doing rap/hip hop and performers not wishing toengage in academic discussions about drag are all openly frowned upon.Preferential treatment appears given to those troupes and performersthat construct pieces high on the obscure, intellectual art scale.(Acro-yoga…great. Straight up performance of any given top 40song…suck.)

Solution: Make IDKE’s mission and target attendees clear. If IDKE isonly for theatrical drag performers, be honest about that. If mid-actprotests are allowed for a piece people disagree with, be clear aboutwhy. If rap/hip hop is not welcome, be open about it. Lastly, if IDKEonly wants academics to attend, be plain about that.

Without change, IDKE will most certainly die. It needs to remedy itsinsolvency, create leadership and be clear about its target attendees.IDKE is an unattractive package to any host city right now…it offersdebt, obscure leadership and drama. That is my honest opinion. NewOrleans was ready to host IDKE XIII…so ready that we already hadvenues committing to it. But after the treatment we received (both theCarnival Kings AND the Crescent City Kings) at IDKE XI, beingattacked on Facebook and being blackballed from events like FaGG, itwas clear that New Orleans wouldn’t be hosting anything for thegreater drag community in the foreseeable future.

IDKE appears, on its surface, to be an opportunity for the entire dragcommunity to meet one another, perform and discuss drag-relatedtopics. At least, that’s what the Carnival Kings thought when we firstheard of it back in 2006. But beneath it all, it appears to embraceelitism over individualism, academia over entertainment andhomogenization over cultural diversity. It rejects its own ideal ofaccountability; when confronted with controversy and asked to be accountable, the Carnival Kings were just that. We agreed to a pre-TownHall Meeting and listened to what everyone had to say, but it was not enough. It seemed the protesting parties did not just want accountability…they wanted blood. The IDKE that allows such behavior should die; I hope it does. In its wake, though, I hope something better is created; something we can all endorse. It will be an event that will have a sensible business plan, stable leadership and a sense of fair play.

It will be an event where protests during an act aren’t allowed.

It will be an event that doesn’t attempt to solve in-depth problemsvia Town Hall Meeting.

It will be an event that doesn’t allow amateur mediation among largegroups to take place.

It will be an event that allows for cultural differences withoutimmediately labeling it “racism” or “cultural appropriation.”

It will be an event that will frown upon using academia as a weaponagainst those who aren’t academics.

It will be an event that welcomes all types of performances, withdifferent stages for each and with the cream of the crop submitted toa Showcase-like event.

It will be an event for the whole drag king community, not just thosewith college degrees and an academic bone to pick.

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I'm not a pro blogger, but I like to write. If you are in my life, you'll probably be featured here at some point. If, for whatever reason, you do not want to be mentioned here, please email me at darthfroster@gmail.com and I will immediately remove that particular blog. I respect your privacy. Names are often changed to protect the...guilty. :) The innocent rarely have anything to hide.